How to End a Love Story

Grant recalls the night of the accident. He attended a party where he sipped a beer. He left for a nostalgic sexual encounter with his ex-girlfriend, feeling slightly guilty because he also had plans with Lauren. Afterward, as he was driving, he was trying to decide whether to see Lauren or go home when he suddenly realized he was about to hit a person running into traffic: This was Michelle.

At the scene, Grant remembers seeing Michelle’s body on a stretcher as an older man discouraged him from coming closer. The same man asked Grant his name and if he had been drinking. Grant felt a moment of doubt and felt like he was lying when he said no, even though the breathalyzer test he took later supported his claim that he wasn’t.

Helen recalls her memories of the same night. She remembers being alone in the house while her parents went to identify Michelle’s body. In a final, desperate effort to protect her sister, she flushed all the drugs she found in Michelle’s room down the toilet. What truly haunts her is their final, bitter fight. Helen told Michelle she could not borrow a necklace she wanted to wear to a party. When Michelle reacted angrily and said she sometimes wished she didn’t have a sister, Helen responded that she felt the same way. Helen remembers searching through Michelle’s laptop later and discovering that her last internet searches were about death and running into traffic. Helen resolved to keep searching her sister’s computer for a final message from her.

Grant tells Helen what he did after interrupting Michelle’s funeral. He drove to a pizza shop and ran into his friends. He participated in the conversation but felt guilty that he’d gotten away with killing someone and no one treated him any differently for it.

Back in the present, Grant gasps out apologies to Helen, and she realizes how similar their suffering is. She asks Grant to cover her body with his and tells him she forgave him before she forgave Michelle. Grant tells her not to hold on to that anger, and he apologizes for leaning on her emotionally; Helen privately admits she values the ability to support him.

Grant accepts Helen’s suggestion that they go out for lunch. As Helen looks at him fondly, Grant realizes he is falling in love with her. She asks him what he wants for his upcoming birthday. He tells her he wants her to host a party at his house, with their coworkers, where they will act like a couple.

Later, Helen faces Nicole’s scrutiny over her plan to host Grant’s birthday party. Nicole is certain this means Grant has serious feelings for Helen. She admits this might be true but insists Grant knows she cannot give him more.

Helen spends the night before the party with Grant, telling him she sometimes misses him even when they are together. They have passionate sex, and Grant assures her they are together for now.

Grant and Helen prepare dinner for the party, cuddling and kissing between tasks. Their guests arrive before they can fully discuss Grant’s concerns about their future. They are openly affectionate with each other in front of their guests, and Helen has an unwelcome epiphany, realizing that this is how it would feel to be in love with Grant. She finds the intensity of the emotion painful.

After the others leave, Grant tries to force Helen to talk about her feelings. She says it is unnecessary because their relationship has an expiration date, but he insists, declaring that he has fallen deeply in love with her. Helen tells him he does not really love her, but Grant demands she at least pretend, for the rest of the night, that they are in love. She agrees, and they both briefly impersonate Hollywood actors Katharine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart; while in character, Helen openly declares her affection for him.

The next day, Grant apologizes, telling her he will respect her boundaries going forward. They kiss intensely, dropping the subject.

Helen prepares for her first day on set for filming. Grant distracts her from her nerves with sex. She feels intense guilt and longing as she leaves for work and he sleepily tells her that she’s always leaving him. Meanwhile, Grant feels renewed pride in Helen’s accomplishments, briefly remembering her ambitions in high school.

Helen’s parents come to visit, and she picks them up at the airport. She struggles to explain to her father why she is not the show runner, reflecting that so much of her communication with her parents is “lost in translation” (276). Helen’s parents admire her condo, and Helen feels a deep sense of pride. Later, she tells Grant what a welcome surprise their approval is, and she tries to hold on to the pleasant feeling.

Helen takes her parents to set, and at dinner afterward, they tell her she has impressed them. Helen excuses herself from the table to cry from joy. When she returns, the mood has broken: Her parents have been added to a production listserv and have discovered that Grant works on the show. Helen’s mother is furious and storms out, while her father is equally dismayed and leaves soon after.

Helen retreats to Grant’s house for comfort, explaining to him that her parents have found out about his presence on the show. Helen upbraids herself for adding to their pain and realizes Grant does not fully appreciate the depth of her despair.

Meanwhile, Grant is struggling to grasp Helen’s declaration that their relationship must end before her parents begin to suspect something. She tells him they would be devastated if they ever found out. Helen refuses to accept his point that she is an adult who can make her own choices; instead, she points out that losing her parents would damage her, too. She reminds Grant that she never lied about the limits on their time together. Grant professes his love for her, and Helen only tells him he is making things more difficult than she hoped, but she admits she shares his pain. Helen tries to tell him he will find someone who can love him without requiring him to encounter trauma. Grant tells her he loves her as she cries. She kisses him goodbye and leaves reluctantly, fighting tears.